What are specifications, why we need them and how to prepare them<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Alexey Zorin, the programme tutor, held a lecture on the House of Knowledge campus as part of the CIPS open lesson. We\u2019d like to share the highlights with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/k-house.in.ua\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/08\/Alexey_Zorin_closeup-260-x-260-150x150.png\")
<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\nAlexey Zorin is a program manager at UKRSIBBANK BNP Paribas Group with 12 years of experience in coordinating procurement in international corporations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Alexey’s experience shows that in most Ukrainian companies the purchasing or procurement department has a transactional function and gets involved in the process when it is necessary to order raw materials and components or services. He focused his speech on saying that more modern and effective approaches require early involvement of the procurement department, even at the stage of creating the specification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
To move on to discussing specifications, you need to understand their role in procurement. To do this, Alexey analyzed the full procurement cycle<\/strong> with those present:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Such a detailed description of the procurement process lets you see that it is extremely important to carry out quality purchases without specification. A specific description of what exactly needs to be bought allows you to cut off everything unnecessary in the early stages and choose exactly what you need.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The specification is the tool that defines the requirements for a product \/ service. These requirements are then clearly communicated to potential suppliers. And the delivery is ultimately checked for compliance, demanded according to a number of criteria defined in the specification for this particular case<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Globally, specifications can be categorised into two types: conformance specification and performance specification.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In the first of them, the procurement manager clearly indicates the constituent elements of the product or service. Such a technical description can be presented schematically, in the form of a drawing, a formula, a recipe with ingredients, or even include a test sample. At the same time, the supplier does not need to know what functions the purchased product will perform. The main thing is that, using this document, they can provide a product that fully corresponds to the technical description provided by the buyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The second specification provides the supplier with information about the buyer\u2019s expectations from the product in terms of the functions, the performance, the anticipated results. In other words, it is a certain set of reference characteristics to which the product \/ service which are to be obtained must correspond to. It is important to emphasize that in this case the supplier has some flexibility in terms of the items they offer that are able to meet the customer’s expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifications can be useful or complicate things. <\/strong>To manage all the risks that they come with, consider the pros and cons of this tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As Alexey Zorin notes, if the purchase is made from more than one supplier, the specification can play a key role in ensuring the acquisition of standard purchasing items. In addition, each of them can be checked for compliance with the quality and acceptability criteria noted in the product \/ service description. And in the event of a dispute, the specification will serve as indisputable proof of the exact nature of the order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the shortcomings of the specification\u2019s development and use, the lecturer noted the length and cost of the process, the overly literal perception of the document by suppliers, the higher costs of inspection and quality control that applies to complex specifications and potentially excessive requirements for technical characteristics can lead to an increase in price for a product \/ service.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The world of procurement and supply is evolving – and the methods are evolving with it. Managers especially need to keep up with these changes and skillfully adopt the world’s best practices. Together with the tutor of the CIPS program in Ukraine, we are exploring the role of specifications in procurement as one of the factors of an effective operational process.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15392,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[160],"tags":[125],"yoast_head":"\nTypes of specifications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Advantages and disadvantages of specifications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n